Take one reality TV superstar, stir in some questions about baking and top with hundreds of eager fans – Letchworth’s Broadway Cinema had the recipe for success on Friday night as punters clustered to catch a glimpse of the queen of baking Mary Berry.

The Great British Bake Off star held a question and answer session organised by the town’s David’s Bookshop to promote her latest book Absolute Favourites.

Speaking to the Comet, Mary said: “The book is about telling people how to prepare food in advance.

“People are so busy nowadays, they spend a lot less time in the kitchen. The book is inspired by my favourite hobbies, so I rediscovered those things, such as taking walks on the beach in the sunshine.”

Mary’s advice for a budding young Letchworth baker? The answer is simple: “If you want to be a chef you need to train. There are so many ways to do it. Go to college.

“There is still room to make it in the baking industry, the market is not oversaturated. You need ideas.

“Great British Bake Off started off as a simple format, the show is just so simple. But baking has exploded across the UK.”

More than 450 people flocked to the cinema session to listen to Mary talk about her favourite cooking techniques.

It was the just the latest in a successful series of events which see the Eastcheap bookshop link up with the nearby cinema.

Broadway Cinema manager Jason Valentine said: “We work very closely with David’s Bookshop and have had a number of successful celebrity question and answer sessions with the likes of Clare Balding and Paul Merton, always to a packed crowd.

“These events are for Letchworth. You don’t get a packed cinema anywhere anymore, so it’s a really good thing for the town.

“Events like this encourage people to come to Letchworth. It’s bringing in a different crowd who may not be cinema goers.

“When the crowds leave the cinema, you have to think, where do they go? To local restaurants, so everyone benefits.”